This application requests support for a program consisting of symposia, conferences, and workshops which will be held in conjunction with the 9th triennial meeting of the International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste (ISOT) and the 8th annual meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS). The aims of these symposia, conferences, and workshops are to identify new, promising directions and areas of research; to discuss controversial issues of research not usually covered by more traditional chemosensory meetings; to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among investigators in order to stimualte unique research directions; to educate young investigators; to provide the opportunity for new, promising investigators to present their findings; to encourage participation of international scientists; to attract physicians and clinical investigators; to propose approaches to solving current problems in the chemical senses, including chemosensory disorders and associated disease states in the mission of the NINCDS; and to publish the proceedings of the meeting in a widely-read journal. Timely topics for the meeting have been chosen by the ISOT Organizing Committee from the suggestions of members of AChemS, the European Chemoreception Research Organization (ECRO), the Japanese Association for the Study of Taste and Smell (JASTS), and with the advice of the International Commission on Olfaction and Taste (ICOT). The programs have been reviewed by the ISOT Organizing Committee to ensure their quality and significance to chemosensory research and to disorders and the mission of the NINCDS. The topics and the faculty of the program are described. Described also is a new format for ISOT and a novel way of programming the meeting. To arrive at new approaches for studying the chemical senses, leading experts in fields related to taste and olfaction, namely chemical reception in ciliated protozoa and bacteria, and even sensory processing in audition, will play important roles. The conference has been approved for substantial credits for Continuing Medical Education to attract physicians and clinical workers. To encourage international participation, the proposed meeting will be a satellite of the 1986 International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS) conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia.